25 reasons Queer as Folk is essential LGBTQIA+ viewing today

Talking about conversion therapy

Today, conversion therapy is still a hot button issue. This year alone, there have been two films released portraying the outdated “therapy” that attempts to turn gay people straight with a variety of harmful practices: The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Boy Erased. Back in 2000, however, Queer as Folk touched on the topic too, but not quite in the same way as those films.

In the show’s first season, Emmett has an HIV scare. After getting tested, he’s told they will call him if there’s anything he should be concerned about. He waits in agony after receiving a phone call from the doctor’s office asking him to go in as soon as possible. He makes a pact with God, saying that if he isn’t HIV-positive, he will never have sex with a man again. It turns out they wanted him to come in because his payment bounced, not because he had HIV, but he keeps his promise to God.

Emmett starts attending gay conversion counseling, and even tries to date a woman. This lasts for a few episodes in season 1 before Emmett finally realizes he can’t change who he is. Actually, this might be one of the only issues that Queer as Folk dealt with in a more lighthearted matter. It didn’t dive into all the underlying problems with conversion therapy, the psychological and physical abuse many people have to endure, or the high suicide rates. But the show still discusses it, and that was enough to start a bigger conversation among audiences.